Essay Example on Service Encounters

The competition existing in all markets is constantly on the rise. For this reason, it has become essential for any company that wishes to thrive to deliver a solution and to fulfill customers' needs besides just providing the physical product. As a matter of fact, these companies often develop complete solutions through service delivery to complement the physical products they offer, thereby meeting their customers' demands and needs.

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About a week ago, on 22nd May 2019, I had a phone call conversation with the Volkswagen Group of America. I particularly made a call to the head of the customer service department about the current price and features of Audi A3; a compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker since 1996 (Autoevolution, 2016). The industry category of the service provider, in this case, Volkswagen Group of America, is the automotive industry. I made the call around 12 noon.

I've always loved cars. I can literally spend hours talking about the state of the automotive industry. I may not be excellent when it comes to fixing cars in any sort of meaningful fashion but love the damn things anyway. The faster, the better. I was conducting research on fast cars made by the Volkswagen group between the period of 1990 and 2019, and I realized I do not have enough information for Audi A3 which prompted me to contact the Volkswagen customer service department. I specifically chose Volkswagen because it is a brand steeped in rich history and heritage as well as a leader in technical innovation.

The individual on the other end of the line was an absolute wonder. He not only opened the conversation by greetings me but also introduced himself as the head of the customer service. He made me feel very cozy about the whole process. I realized how much knowledgeable he was about their products just from the way he spoke and gave me the details to everything I needed to know. Even more, he went ahead and gave me additional information on other Audi models.

In any business, service providers need to provide the right servicescape features that can positively impact customer satisfaction and behavior (Line, Hanks, & Kim, 2018). At the Volkswagen group, the employees' interaction with customers is excellent, judging from the service I received. The individual, on the other end of the phone, was very friendly and ready to help. What amazed me more was that he was not even a junior employee but a senior official in the company. Volkswagen tries to create a servicescape that fulfills their clients need for comfort, privacy, support convenience as well as security as I witnessed over their website.

The service at Volkswagen was extremely satisfying. The attitude, the knowledge, the willingness to help and the courtesy are some of the attributes Volkswagen employees have that are lacking in other organizations. And I believe that on a scale of 1 to 5, I would rate my level of satisfaction with this service provider as extremely satisfying. If the services were not as satisfactory, I would have recommended Volkswagen to recruit an individual who places value in their customers rather than the physical products.

If I had the means and the willingness to buy Audi A3, I'm quite sure I would still return to the Volkswagen group. I'm passionate about cars, and unlike most car dealers, Volkswagen employees tend to dedicate their time so that their clients understand what they are taking home. In fact, this is a company I would definitely recommend to a friend because they help the client make the best decision out of so many options.

From my experience with the service provider, I learnt that leadership is a responsibility and not just a position of power. It involves a combination of listening to people, including both the subordinate employees and the clients, learning from them and adapting to the organization and its people. This can be applied to guest services in the sports industry to gather the right information from clients and in turn, meet their demands and needs.

References

Autoevolution. (October 28, 2016). Audi A3: Generations, specs and pictures. Retrieved from https://www.autoevolution.com/audi/a3/

Line, N. D., Hanks, L., & Kim, W. G. (2018). An expanded servicescape framework as the driver of place attachment and word of mouth. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 42(3), 476-499.